Hi Darcye,

 

I’ve facilitated quite a few OER writing sprints, but not open assignment sprints. All but one was in person, but I facilitated an online sprint in December. It went so well, we’ve agreed to do it again in February.

 

My tips off the top of my head:

1. Create a timeline/schedule, and follow it. Make sure you build in times for breaks
   1. Is it just writing? Or do you need to do any sessions/workshops as part of it? E.g., Creative Commons, H5P, etc.

                                                               i.      What I’ve found out is that people often needed more foundational info than anticipated, so figure out how to either build that in, or do before the event

2. Have a plan. Good idea to map the project before the event and have people decide their parts. Otherwise, that can eat up a lot of time.
1. Have options for downtime
2. Have a discussion at the beginning to discuss expectations, decide on outcomes/goals, and establish rules as a group
   1. When done in person, I’ve used some Liberating Structures activities to structure the workshops, shape the expectations/rules. E.g., “what could we do to create the worst textbook possible?” à what do we need to do to avoid these?
3. If people are working independently, build in times to come together to discuss what they accomplished and have a chance to ask questions/clarify things. It’s a chance to touch base, but also builds in accountability

 

If you want to talk more, please let me know.

 

Brenda